Road surface treating machine



5 c. J. HELTZEL ROAD SURFACE TREATING MACH INE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed June 18, 1946 INVENTOR. C. J. 1 /547254 ATTOZA/EYJ Oct. 16, 1951 c. J. HELTZEL ROAD SURFACE TREATING MACHINE 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 I Filed June 18,

INVENTOR. C. J #54 7254 ATTOK/VEYJ Patented Oct. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT O FFlCE ROAD SURFACE TREATING MACHINE Carl J. Heltzel, Warren, Ohio Application June 18, 1946, Serial No. 677,623

8 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in road surface treating machines and more particularly relates to certain improvements over the machine illustrated and described in my copending application filed January 19, 1946, Serial No. 642,196, now Patent 2,555,693, January 12, 1951, entitled Machine for Spraying Concrete Curing Compound.

An object of the, invention is to provide an improved machine having a brooming attachment to prepare the concrete surface for the subsequent action of the curing compound,

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved brooming attachment for a travelling bridge or road machine in which the broom units will be caused to dip into a bath of water at the end of each sweeping stroke across the concrete slab to remove the particles of concrete from the bristles of the brushes and to otherwise cleanse the brushes for more efficient subsequent brushing operations.

A further object of the invention resides in providing an improved brooming attachment for automatically driven travelling road bridges which is so related to the motor for driving the bridge or machine as to receive its drive therefrom at a speed best calculated for the sweeping operations.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an improved road surface treating machine as constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the machine taken on the lines 2-2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the brooming chain with one of the broom heads attached thereto; v

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken on the lines 44 in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a water tank employed in connection with the brooming attachment;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevation taken from the opposite side of Figure 1 and showing the front portion of the machine on an enlarged scale with the drum hoist mechanism prominently displayed, and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the drum hoist mechanism.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the same reference numerals as employed in my copending application aforesaid are used to denote like or corresponding parts which will be described briefly as follows:

The vehicle or carriage 20 rolls along the road side forms 22 on its wheels 2|, propelled by the engine 23 through the drive shaft 24 and gear box 25.

The brooming attachment comprises an end-' less brooming chain 50, carrying one or more brooming heads 5| over the slab 52 and an appropriate number of sprockets over which the endless chain is trained.

In the instance shown in Figure 2, an end sprocket 53 at the right hand end of the machine receives the upper run of the chain 5|] and turns it into the lower run which extends transversely across the machine and beneath sprockets 54, 55 and 56 which are spaced at suitable intervals and which retain the bristles of the brushes 5| downwardly upon the slab 52. Sprockets 51 and 58 are horizontally spaced and elevated above sprockets 53, 54, 55 and 56 to cause the lower run of the chain to be elevated after its transverse passage across the slab 52. Vertically spaced sprockets 59 and 6|! are so related to one another and to the sprocket 58 as to cause the chain to run downwardly from the sprocket 58 to sprocket 59, thence upwardly in a substantially vertical run to the upper sprocket 60 by which the chain is deflected on its upper run in a right hand direction back across the machine.

In the central portion of its upper run the chain 50 is caused to move over a sprocket 6|, thence under a sprocket 62 and finally over a sprocket 63. 62 constitutes the drive sprocket and the flanking sprockets 6| and 63 form a bight in the chain so as to ensure the meshing 0f the chain with the drive sprocket 62 at all times.

As shown more particularly in Figures 2 and 4, a drive shaft 64, driven by the engine 23, drives a sprocket 65 entrained with a drive chain 66 which in turn drives a sprocket on the rear end of a shaft 6'! upon the front end of which is affixed the drive sprocket 62 which meshes with the brooming chain 56. g

The sprocket 59 is disposed above the level of a body of water in a water tank 68 installed at the side of the framework 20 in position to receive the brooming heads 5| as they are transferred from the lower to the upper run of the brooming conveyor 50. Such tank has an extension 68 exte ding from i s lower p rtion 3 toward the machine frame. This extension has a curved lip 68*. The inner wall of the water tank 68 is open for the movement of the brooming chain and brooming heads therethrough as indicated in Figure 5.

Referring more particularly to Figures 6 and 7, the drum 29 for the curing compound is shown as having a plug or bung 69 in one head thereof which is always disposed toward one edge of the drum. On the machine frame 20 I provide rollers 10, preferably four in number and spaced apart in pairs at opposite sides of the drum and at such distances apart as to constitute a cradle on the machine frame for receiving the drum in its sidewise tilted position; that is with the cylindrical wall of the drum 29 resting and freely rotating on the cradle rollers l0,

At one side of this cradle and upon the framework of the machine is erected a davit II hav-. ing thereon a winch or hoist mechanism 12 with a pulley 13 at the curved end of the davit H adapted to receive the cable therethrough which supports the block and tackle and the gripping tongs or sling 14 by which the drum 29 is elevated and carried to and from its support on the roller cradle. The davit H is mounted in a socket 15 for pivotal movement, such socket bein ca d up n a plat m It s ured o the machine framework 29 and appropriateiy brac y the d ag na race In the use of the device, the machine being dri en in e dir of th arrow of Figu l and the reem ne a a hm n be ng put in operation, the brooming heads are driven across the concrete slabs 52 as the machine moves slowly forward. These brooms do not reciprocate back and forth but the succession of brooms moves continuously across the concrete slab 52. Such brooms will be mounted in suff c n mu e s with r f r nce to e a o forward speed of the machine that all of the surface of the slab 52 will be efficiently broomed to remove any latent or excess moisture. At the .end of the transverse movement the broomns beads are ar d pwardly and into the water tank which removes concrete particles and at the same time maintains the brushes damp, flexible and fresh. The top sprocket 69 in the, water tank 68 is so located as to give a whip. action to the brush heads as they emerge from the water, thus removing any excess moisture from them, Qn their return to the other side of the road the o m 5| a n an upside-down position carried along by the upper run of the chain 50, so that the entire brushing operation is in one direction only,

The arrangement herein shown and described is for a half width road, that is to say of a road to twelve feet, wide. On a full width road (twenty to twenty-four feet) it would probably be desirable to have two brooming devices, each working from the center of the road to the outside, This will probably be matter of State specifications, and is variable with the various Sta e h g ay departm nt.

As shown in Figure 3, the brush heads 5| are attached to the sides of the chain 50 so as not to interfere with the chain riding over the arious s ockets- The lower run of the chain 50 is preferably straight and level and will have an adequate number of supporting sprockets to maintain this position. At the same time the entire imous ne ech n sm is un ed n a su ircme hich. s a ius a le up an down. for increasing or decreasing the pressure of the brooms on the concrete, and at the same time allowing for variation in height or depth of the slab, or for any other special contingencies.

The whip action described in connection with sprocket 69 results from the speeded-up action of the broom heads in negotiating the circumference of the sprocket. This centrifugal motion tends to throw off all excess water which is picked up in washing the brush as it dips into the water in the water tank 68. This whip action may be made to occur most efficiently at the upper sprocket 60. The tank 68 is so arranged and constructed as to provide complete pover to eliminate as much as possible the spillage oceurring as the brushes pass through the water and negotiate the upper sprocket for throwing off the excess liquid.

It will be noted that the travel of the chain and the brushes is carried upwards as it approaches the tank. This is to permit building up the tank 68 into the extension 68 so that additional water can be used, and thus keeping the level of the water somewhat below the top of the tank to avoid spilling and unnecessary mess, as all water must be kept from the surface of the road. The sprockets 57 and 58 carry the brushes up and over the lip 68 of the tank 68.

Referrin more pa ularly to Fi ures 6 and "i, t e hoi t i pivoted and employed for handling the drums of the curing compound and for bringing those drums inboard so as to be placed upon the roller cradle 19 for centralizing the location of the drums as placed on the frame 2!). The hooks on the gripping tongs '54 engage in the rims 0f the drum heads with the axis on the drum in a horizontal position where.- by its cylindrical wall is ready to be received upon the roll 10 up n which it may e rotated as heretofore described.

I have discovered under actual operation that tank .68. is not indispensible for the successful operation of removing the latence from the bristles of the broom or the brush, It is found that by the simple sprockets at each end similar to 53, that there is enough centrifugal force on the brush as it changes in direction in going around such sprocket that all the latence is completely removed and that the apparatus can run an entire day without washing or cleaning the broom. By latence is meant in the industry the surplus fluid or water that contains chiefly particles of cement, which Works itself to the surface of a body of concrete and which is usually removed by straight-edging or brushin because it has no structural strength.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

1. In a road surface treating machine, a carriage movable along a plastic roadway under construction, an endless chain mounted to move substantially transversely on said carriage, a broom carried in offset relation to said chain, end and intermediate sprockets extending substantially in the same horizontal line on a low portion of said carriage for receiving the chain beneath the same and forming a lower run for the chain below which. the broom isadapted to extend in a wiping action across the surface of the roadway below, an upper run for said chain runnin around one of said end sprockets, a pair of horizontally spaced sprockets offset outwardly and at an elevation from the other of said end sprockets for receiving the chain from such end sprocket, a pair of vertically spaced sprockets one of which extends below and the other above the horizontal line of said horizontally spaced sprockets for receiving the chain in a downward run from the outer of the horizontally spaced sprockets and for directing the chain in an ascending run to the upper of the vertically disposed sprockets from which the chain turns into its upper run, and means on the carriage engaged with said chain for driving the same.

2. A road surface treating machine as claimed in claim 1 characterized by the fact that said last-named means constitutes a sprocket in engagement with a portion of the upper run of said chain with idler sprockets spaced to opposite sides of such drive sprocket to form a bight in the chain in cooperation with said drive sprocket.

3. A road surface treating machine as claimed in claim 1 characterized by the fact that a liquid wash tank is carried at the side of the frame in position to receive the vertically spaced sprockets to enable the broom to dip into the liquid in the tank to cleanse the same of latence.

4. A road surface treating machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein a tank for containin acleansing liquid is mounted at one side of the machine to receive the vertically spaced sprockets and having an open inner wall to receive the upper and lower runs of the chain and an inwardly extending extension open at its top adapted to be cleared by the chain and its broom due to the upward movement of the lower run of the chain from such end sprocket to the inner of the horizontally spaced sprockets.

5. A road surface treating machine as claimed in claim 1 in which a tank for cleansing liquid is mounted at one side of the machine in position to receive the vertically spaced sprockets and having an inner open wall to receive the chain and an inward extension having an open top with an inner wall provided with a curved lip.

6. In a road surface treating machine, a carriage movable along and spanning a roadway under construction, an endless chain mounted for substantially transverse movement of said carriage, a broom carried in offset relation to move with said chain, a cleansing liquid tank mounted at one side of said carriage and havin an inner open wall to receive the chain and broom through the tank, sprockets mounted on a low level on said carriage for forming a lower run in said chain with the broom accessible to the surface of the roadway, and a series of sprockets for guiding said chain upwardly and into said tank from the lower run of the chain and thence outwardly into an upper run of the chain, and means on the carriage for driving said endless chain.

7. In a road surface treating machine, a carriage adapted to move over a roadway under construction, a transversely mounted endless movable carrier member mounted on said carriage, a broom carried to move in offset relation by said carrier member, end support devices forming a lower run in said carrier member at a low level with respect to the carriage for making the broom accessible to the road surface in a transverse sweeping movement, a tank for cleansing liquid at one side of said carriage having an open inner wall adapted to receive said carrier member and broom, support and guide members in and adjacent said tank for guiding and supporting said carrier member through the tank in a movement in which the broom is caused to be dipped into the cleansing liquid in the tank, one of said guide members forming with the opposite end support device and upper run in said carrier member, and means for moving said carrier member.

8. A road surface treating machine as claimed in claim 7 characterized by the fact that said last-named support and guide member forms an elbow in the carrier member of the order of to cause the broom to execute a rapid whipping action for removing excess moisture from the broom.

CARL J. HELTZEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 21,743 Crane Oct. 12, 1858 509,303 Fisher Nov. 21, 1893 532,176 Mueller Jan. 8, 1895 558,934 Cowgill Apr. 28, 1896 582,509 Seufert May 11, 1897 585,933 Hanlon July 6, 1897 990,775 Reid Apr. 25, 1911 1,088,746 Towe Mar. 3, 1914 1,145,324 Lockwood July 6, 1915 1,244,071 OBrien Oct. 23, 1917 1,336,349 Frame Apr. 6, 1920 1,363,502 Duich Dec. 28, 1920 1,504,476 Horembala Aug. 12, 1924 1,777,089 Jansen Sept. 30, 1930 2,196,178 Dice Apr. 9, 1940 2,366,715 French Jan. 9, 1945 

